Rotary engine

ABSTRACT

A rotary engine comprising both a main and secondary rotor provided with a rotating shaft defined along the central axis thereof and disposed in such a fashion that either of the semicylindrically curved outer surfaces of said two rotors is always kept in contact with the outer surface of the central axis portion of the other rotor; a housing including therein two cylindrical hollow portions with a radius equivalent to that of both rotors so as to accommodate therein said two rotors and thereby having a cross-section of cocoon-shape; a gearing mechanism interconnecting both of the rotating shafts projecting out from the cover plates of the housing; a fuel feeding hole positioned in a portion of the housing where the secondary rotor is accommodated; and an ignition plug as well as a exhaust hole positioned in another portion of the housing where the main rotor is accommodated, said two rotors being obtained from dividing a cylindrical member with a suitable height into two cylindrical members by a vertical plane including the central axis thereof and further from cutting away some portions on the both sides of the central axes of said two members lengthwisely along a specific curve.

United States Patent [191 Ikarashi 21 App]. No.: 290,343

[52] U.S. Cl l23/8.07, 123/825, 123/843 [51] Int. Cl. F02b 53/08 [58]Field of Search 123/843, 8.25, 8.07

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1897 Chaudun....-.123/825 1,850,904 3/1932 Woodward 123/825 3,060,911 10/1962 Milton123/825 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 512,389 4/1955 Canada 123/825Primary Examiner.Clarence R. Gordon Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Woodhams,Blanchard & Flynn [57] ABSTRACT A rotary engine comprising both a mainand secon- [111 3,863,609 '14s] Feb. 4, 197s dary rotor provided 'with arotating shaft defined along the central axis thereof and disposed insuch a fashion that either of the semi-cylindricallly curved outersurfaces of said two rotors is always kept in contact with the outersurface of the central axis portion of the other rotor; a housingincluding therein two cylindrical hollow portions with a radiusequivalent to that of both rotors so as to accommodate therein said tworotors and thereby having a cross-section of cocoonshape; a gearingmechanism interconnecting both of the rotating shafts projecting outfrom the cover plates of the housing; a fuel feeding hole positioned ina portion of the housing where the secondary rotor is accommodated; andan ignition plug as well as a exhaust hole positioned in another portionof the housing where the main rotor is accommodated, said two roon theboth sides of the central axes of said two members lengthwisely along aspecific curve.

10 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures PATENTED 44975 3.863.609

' SHEET 10? e PATENTEDFEH 41925 sum 2 0F 6 FIG. 6

SHED 3 OF 6 PATENTEUHB 4:915

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FIG. 9

PATENTEBFEB W5 3.863509 SHEET HIP 6 PATENTEDFEB 191s WEE? BB? 6 1 ROTARYENGINE 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to arotary engine comprising a housing including therein two cylindricalhollow portions overlapping each other to a suitable extent to form across-section of cocoon-shape and a pair of rotors accommodated in saidhousing.

2. Description of the Prior Art The conventional reciprocating engineusually results a noticeable heat loss of fuel; in other words, theenergy available for shaft horsepower is as little as about percent ofthe entire energy generated by fuel combustion, whereby about 70 percentthereof is lost. Then nearly a half of said loss should be taken up asthe loss in exhaust gas. Accordingly, the thermal efficiency of theengine is exceedingly low.

To improve such disadvantages as above-mentioned,

the Wankel type engine has been developed; however it has proved to havestillsuch disadvantages as that the unstabilized rotation of the rotorthereof exerts uneven pressure onto the inside walls of the housing andfurther, it is hard to provide a rotor with a large volume capacity,since the rotor'is not sustained directly by the housing through asupporting shaft, and thus this engine fails to have the expectedthermal efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the present inventionis to provide an improved rotary engine which eliminates theabove-mentioned defects of Wankel type rotary engine hitherto used.

' Another object of the present invention is to provide a rotary enginehaving an enhanced thermal efficiency obtained by extendingthe'expansionstroke thereof for minimization of lossin the exhaust gas.

v A further object of the present invention is to provide a rotaryengine which can be operated with minimized noiseby minimizingvibrations which arise during operation, as by decreasing the torquefluctuations during provide a rotary engine adapted to-have the rotatingshaft of the rotor sustained by the wall of the housing so as to resultin a stabilized rotation of the rotor, whereby it is possible to let therotor have a larger volume in comparison gine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS with the conventional rotary en- FIG.1 illustrates how to draw the specific curves which is the basis fordefining the curved portion of a rotor to be employed by the rotaryengine according to the present invention.

IFIG. 2 is an illustrative view for forming thecurved portion of therotor by virtue of said specific curves.

QFIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a prototype according to thepresent invention and showing the rotors with aspecifically curvedsurface defined by the curves shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative viewfor forming thespecifically curved portionof the rotor for use in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main and secondary rotors for use in apreferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is-across-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment as taken along aline VI VI in FIG. 7. I

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII VII in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the upper portion of what is shown by FIG.6 as taken along the line VIII VIII.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention, wherein the status of operation ineach stroke is shown by (a), (b), (c), and (d) respectively.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main rotor assembly for use in asecond preferred'embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the disassembled main rotor assemblyshown in FIG. 10. i

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a secondary rotorassembly of the secondpreferred: embodimentof the present invention. a

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the disassembled secondary rotor,assembly shown in FIG.l2.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention taken along the line XIV XIV in FIG. 15'.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XV'- XV in FIG.14. r

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XVI XVI-in FIG.14. r

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TIIEINvENTIoN a fundamental To understand thisprinciple, let us consider two of I the semi-cylindrical members as wellas a housing with a cross-section of cocoon-shape. a

Two of the semi-cylindrical members with the same dimension are obtainedby dividing a cylindrical member evenly into two members along avertical plane including the central axis thereof, while for thehousing, two hollow cylinders with the same interior dimension as saidcylindrical member are joined together in such a fashion that theimaginary central axis of each cylinder is spaced in parallel by adistance equivalent to the radius thereof, that is, they are radiallyoverlapped by a length equivalent to the radius thereof, and the sidewall in each-overlapped portion is removed so as to form a housing witha cross-sectionof cocoon-shape, whereby the two chambers interconnected.Then said two semi-cylindrical members are each accommodated within oneof the chambers of the housing and arerotated therein on their centralaxis so as to be kept in union with the imaginary central axis of thechamber with slidable contact between the semi-cylindrical surface ofsaid member and a cylindrical inner wall of the chamber.

Duringrotation of the semi-cylindrical members, a void is createdbetween the outer surface of the semicylindrical members and thesurrounding wall of the housing. This void can be utilizedas agas-working room wherein the gas mixture is exploded for expan-' sion.Thus, the fundamentalprinciple of the present invention depends upon theexpansion of the gas mixture to effect rotation of the semi-cylindricalmembers. so that rotation thereof can be converted into other effectivework.

A rotary engine according to the present invention comprises rotorswhich correspond to the abovementioned semi-cylindrical members, and ahousing, which corresponds to the above-mentioned hollow cylinders, foruse in accommodation of said rotors; whereby a gas working room isformed between the wall surface of the housing and the specificallycurved surface of the rotor defined along a specific curve to bedescribed below.

Now, in reference to FIG. 1, an elucidation will be made as under,regarding how to form, said specific curves.

On circular plate C is placed an equilateral triangle ABD having a sidelength equivalent to the radius of said circular plate in such a mannerthat vertexes A and B are positioned on the circumference of the saidplate C and vertex D is positioned on the center of said circular plate.Then said circular plate C is turned counterclockwise in a directionindicated by an arrow and in the meantime, said equilateral triangle issimultaneously turned clock-wise about vertex A in the directionindicated by an arrow at an angular velocity the same as said circularplate while vertex A is maintained its own position without any movementtherefrom. When turning of the circular plate as well as the equilateraltriangle is stopped after said circular plate has been turned by 60,vertexes B and D have been shifted to the positions b and d respectively(position b is on the same point as the center of the circular plate C,and position d is located on the periphery of the circular plate).

Thus, identical curves R1 and R2 are obtained as locuses defined byshifting vertexes B and D onto the rotating circulating plate. Theselocuses are designated as specific curves.

FIG. 2 illustrates how to define, by virtue of said specific curves, aspecifically curved surface indispensable for the rotor. That is, acylindrical solid member E is divided into two semi-cylindrical membersby a vertical plane including the central axis thereof. Then the pointof contact of the curves R1 and R2 shown in FIG. 1 is positioned at thepoint which is a common center for both semi-cylindrical members, andthe portions of these members defined within the curves R1 and R2passing the center 0' as shown in FIG. 2 are cut away in order to formtwo rotors, F and G, each having a specifically curved surface.

In FIG. 3, there are seen two rotors F and G, obtained from such aprocess as above-described, which are disposed within a housing H. Saidhousing H is provided therein with two cylindrical chambers, both ofwhich have a radius equivalent to that of the cylindrical member E, andconnected to each other in such a fashion that the central axes thereofare disposed in parallel and spaced by a distance equivalent to theradius thereof, for the purpose to accommodate the rotors F and G to letthem stay therein respectively. It should be noted that the central axesO and O of the model rotors F and G are respectively aligned with theimaginary central axes of the cylindrical chambers in the housing.

During the rotation of the rotors, F and G, they are brought intosuccessive contact with each other. for instance, between the loberunning along through the center line of the specifically curved surfaceof one rotor and the side edge of the specifically curved portion of theother rotor, between the lobe running along through the center line ofthe specifically curved surface of one rotor and the semi-cylindricalcurved outer surface of the other rotor or the surface of thespecifically curved portion of the other rotor. and between the sideedge of the specifically curved portion of one rotor and thesemi-cylindrically curved outer surface or the surface of thespecifically curved portion of the other rotor, so that the relation ofSliding contact is always kept between both rotors, whenever the tworotors are rotating on their own axes within the housing.

Further, during the rotation of rotors, there is formed a vacancy orspace between the inner side of the housing and outer surface of eachrotor, F and G, within the area wherein each rotor rotates respectively.That is,

while said vacancy is repeatingly formed and then disappears within therespective area wherein each rotor rotates, said vacancy is divided bythe semicylindrically curved outer surface of the rotating rotors F andG. It is this vacancy that serves as a gas-working chamber of the rotaryengine according to the present invention. Thus, it is deemed that FIG.3 illustrates a prototype of the present invention. The rotary enginesdeveloped as the preferred embodiment of the present invention from sucha prototype are seen in FIGS. 6 to 16. Now, hereinunder an elucidationwill be made with regard to these preferred embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main and secondary rotors for use ina preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 to 16.The two rotors F and G are defined from an original solid member of acylinder-shape E as shown in FIG. 4.

One rotor F has a cross-section ofa fan-shape having a central angle ofwhile the other rotor G is of a shape obtained by cutting away a portioncorresponding to said rotor F from said cylinder E, whereby the centralangle of rotor G is 240.

Both rotors are provided along the central axes thereof with a lobe ofradius r, in which a rotating shaft is disposed. On both sides of thelobe, there is provided a specifically curved surface which is made witha wave-like curve consisting of a circular-arc having a radius r and aspecific curve R1 or R2 connected with each other with a smoothsuccession therebetween.

A further elucidation will be made hereinunder in respect to how toprepare a specific curve for use in defining the specifically curvedportion of a rotor.

As seen in FIG. 1, another equilateral triangle A'BD with the samedimension as the equilateral triangle ABD is placed on the radius DA,i.e., the side DA, so as to strictly overlap with said triangle ABD, andthen the side AD of said triangle ABD is radially slid from the centeralong the radius AD by a distance equivalent to the radius r.Subsequently, in the same manner as in preparation of the specificcurves R1 and R2, the circular plate C as well as the triangle ABD isturned around, so that the curves R1 and R2 are defined thereby as theloci of vertexes B and D drawn up on the rotating circular plate C.

The prepared curves R1 and R2 are thus connected tangentially with acircular are r with smooth succession.

As seen in FIG. 4, the curves resulted from connecting a circular-arc rwith the curve R1 and R2 is applied to and along the lines L1 and L2, bywhich the solid cylindrical member E is divided into two members havingthe central angle of l20 and 240 respectively so as to obtain the rotorsF' and G as shown in FIG. 5.

In FIGS. 6 to 9, the reference numeral 1 denotes a housing having across-section of cocoon-shape. wherein a main chamber 2 and a secondarychamber 3 are formed. The main rotor 4 is accommodated within the mainchamber and the secondary rotor 5 within the secondary chamber. Bothrotors 4 and 5 are formed as seen in FIG. 5, and a rotating shaft 8, 9runs through the lobe 6 and 7 defined along the center line of the rotor4,5 and is fixed thereto. The rotating shafts 8 and 9 are rotatablysustained by the cover plates 13 and 25 disposed on both ends of thehousing.

The secondary rotor 5 is provided on an end surface thereof with a ring10 nonrotatably fixed thereto, and a depressed channel or groove 12 isdefined on the outer periphery of said ring 10, extending to cover ahalf of the peripheral length of said ring 10. Further, an opening 11running through said ring is provided for communication between aportion of said depressed channel 12 and the inner periphery of the ring10.

A disc 14 is fixedly secured to the back side of the cover plate 13adjacent chamber 3. The periphery of the disc 14 is brought intoslidable contact with the inner periphery of the ring 10, meanwhile thebottom surface of the disc 14 is also brought into slidable contact withan end wall of the rotor 5. An intake hole 19 extends through both ofthe cover plate 13 and the disc 14.

An impression 15 is defined on the bottom surface of the disc 14, whilea communicating passage is formed in disk 14 and communicates with saidimpression 15 and said opening 11 during rotation of the rotors.

The cover plate 13 is provided with an ignition chamber 16 positionedwithin a depressed cavity on the back side of a portion of said coverplate covering the main chamber 2 on the side thereof adjacent to thesecondary rotor 5, which chamber 16 is adapted for communication withboth the main chamber Z and the channel 12 as shown in FIG. 8. Anignition plug 17 is inserted within said ignition chamber 16 and anexhaust hole 18 is formed in the corner opposite to said ignitionchamber.

The reference numerals 21 and 22 denote the transmission gears fixedlymounted onto the rotating shafts 8 and 9, and the reference numerals 23and 24 denote the balance weights equivalent to the weight of rotors 4and 5.

Now referring mainly to FIG. 9 (a) to (d), an elucidation will be madesuccessively with regard to operation of the first preferred embodimentof the present invention having such a structural feature as mentionedabove.

As seen in FIG. 9, the main rotor 4 rotates counterclockwise, while thesecondary rotor 5 rotates clockwise. FIG. 9 (a) illustrates an operatingstatus at the moment when the intake stroke is just starting. Let usnotice that a gas-working chamber formed on the side of the secondarychamber 3 communicates with the intake hole 19, and then the gas chambergradually increases in size in accordance with the rotation of the rotor5, whereby the gas mixture is drawn in through the intake hole 19.Meanwhile, the gas mixture under compression within the othergas-working chamber i communicates with the depressed channel 12 throughthe impression 15, the communicating passage 20 and the opening 11 andthis gas mixture becomes gradually compressed due to the size of chamber1' being de' creased.

On the other hand, the gas-working chamberj on the side of the mainchamber 2 is filled with burnt gas mixture and a portion thereof beginsto flow out the exhaust hole 18. The gas-working chamberj decreases itscapacity in accordance with the rotation of the main rotor 4 and therebythe amount of the exhausted gas is increased.

FIG. 9 (b) shows an operating status immediately after the start ofcompression stroke. 'On this occasion. on the side of the secondarychamber, an edge portion of the main rotor 4 is coming into thegas-working chamber k and thereby said gas-working chamber graduallydecreases its capacity or size, whereby gradual compression is effectedto the gas mixture staying in said gas-working chamber k, the impressionl5, and the communicating passage 20.

On the other hand, on the side of the main chamber, the gas-workingchamber L is increased in capacity by rotation of the main rotor 4resulted from the combustion of the gas mixture, and meanwhile all ofthe burnt gas in the gas-working chamber u is discharged through theexhaust hole 18 and in a short while said gasworking chamber u willdisappear.

FIG. 9 (c) shows an operating status immediately before the expansionstroke. Under this status, the gasworking chamber m on the side of themain chamber 2 communicates with the depressed channel 12 and theopening 11 of the secondary rotor 5, and the compressed gas mixturestaying therein is introduced into the ignition chamber 16 so as to beignited by the ignition plug 17 to cause the capacity of saidgas-working chamber In to increase thereby. Then the burnt gas mixturestaying in said gas-working chamber n is discharged through the exhausthole 18 and said gasworking chamber it gradually decreases its capacity.

On the other hand, the capacity of the gas-working chamber p on the sideof the secondary chamber is enlarged to its maximum, as the projectingedge portion of the main rotor moves out from said chamber.

FIG. 9 (d) shows an operating status immediately before the exhaustionstroke. Under this status, the projecting end portion of the rotor 5begins to penetrate into the gas-working chamber q on the side of mainchamber 2, whereby the capacity of said chamber q is gradually decreasedand burnt gas mixture is thereby discharged through the exhaust hole 18.

On the other hand, the gas-working chamber s on the side of the chamber3 gradually increases its capacity in order to take in gas mixture fromthe intake hole 19, while the other gas-working chamber u is about todisappear. Accordingly, compression of gas mixture staying within theimpression 15, the communicating hole 20, the opening 11 and depressedchannel 12 is soon completed.

Comparing the prototype shown in FIG. 3 with the first preferredembodiment of the present invention, it

is understood from the foregoing descriptions that the former isprovided with a main and secondary rotor having a central angle of sincethe rotors F and G are based upon two semi-cylindrical members obtainedfrom dividing a solid cylindrical member by a vertical plane includingthe center axis thereof, while the latter is provided with a main andsecondary rotor having a central angle of 120 and 240 respectively. Thisis a main difference between the former and the latter.

Therefore, so far as the latter concerns, a gas working, which appearsbetween the main chamber 2 and the main rotor 4 after gas mixture hasbeen ignited, is larger in capacity thereof when compared with that ofthe former. In other words, the expansion stroke of the latter isextended by the larger capacity of the gasworking chamber appearingbetween the main chamber 2 and the main rotor 4, in comparison with theformer.

In addition, it can be said that the smaller the central angle of themain rotor is, the larger the capacity of the gas-working chamber on themain rotor side is incomparison with the capacity on the secondary rotorside.

FIGS. and 11 illustrate a second embodiment. Since the majority of theparts of the modified embodiment are identical to the previouslydescribed preferred embodiment, said parts will be designated by-thesame reference numeral used to designate the corresponding parts in thepreferred embodiment but with the suffix A and A' added thereto.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a main rotor assembly 60 comprises tworotors 4A and 4A mounted onto a single shaft coaxially in parallel andin symmetry. An end plate 26, 27 is fixedly secured to an opposing endsurface of each rotor, and a gear 21a is fixedly installed onto saidshaft between said two end plates 26 and 27.

The main rotor 4A and 4A is provided with a ring 29 in an end portionthereof opposite said end plate 26 and 27 and the inner side of therotor defines a curved surface 36 FIG. 11 which is brought into contactwith the surface of a sleeve 33 to be described later on.

Further, on the end surface of the main rotor are a plurality ofcrosswise grooves 30 and a plurality of seal members are inlaid in saidgrooves. A hole 31 is defined at each of the crossing points of thegrooves and a pressing spring is inserted into said hole 31 in orderthat said pressing spring exerts a pressure on said seal member.Furthermore, curved surface 36 is provided with a dovetail groove 38(FIG. and a seal member 39 is inlaid in the dovetail groove, the sealmember projecting out from said dovetail groove by the force of aspring.

Said end plate 26 and 27 each is provided on the periphery thereof witha groove, into which a seal member 35 of circular-arc-shape is insertedslidably. A journal 32 is slidably inserted into the ring 29 of eachmain rotor 4A and 4A, and a sleeve 33 is fixedly secured at its one endto the supporting plate 34 (see FIG. 14) which is fixed to a coverplate, 13A and 25A, of the housing 1A. Said sleeve 33 is provided with acurved surface 37 which is brought into slidable contact with a surfaceof the secondary rotor, 5A and 5A; to be described later on. Said curvedsurface 37 is provided with a plurality of seal members 40 inserted intoa plurality of dovetail grooves 41, just like the foregoing curvedsurface 36.

An opposing end surface of each secondary rotor is provided in thecentral portion thereof with a ring 49, which is defined to projecttherefrom and includes a journal 44 and an L-shaped plate 45 connectingsaid journal. Said journal 44 is to be inserted slidably into thecentral hole of said end plate 42 and 43. Further, this end surface isprovided with a plurality of grooves 46 as well as a plurality of holes47 so as to inlay and insert seal members and pressing springs therein,just like the end surface of said main rotor 4A and 4A.

On the inner side ofthe secondary rotor 5A and 5A, is defined a curvedsurface 58 for contact'with the surface of a sleeve 51 to be describedlater on. A journal 50 is slidably inserted into a ring 49 of thesecondary rotor 5A and 5A. The sleeve 51, which is fixed at its one endto the cover plate, 13A and 25A, of the housing 1, is provided with acurved surface 52 for slidable contact with the surface of said mainrotor, 4A and 4A.

The respective curved surface, 58 and 52, of said secondary rotor, 5Aand 5A, and said sleeve 51 is provided with a dovetail groove 28 and53as well as a seal member 54 and 55 inserted therein, just like thecurved surface of the main rotor, 4A and 4A, and the sleeve 33.

Each end plate 42 and 43 is cut off so as to not overlap with said endplates 26 and 27, respectively. A groove of circular-arc-shape isdefined on the periphery of the end plate and a seal member 56 ofcirculararc-shape is inserted in said groove.

Between the end plates 42 and 43 is disposed a gear 22A, which isprovided with a square hole 57 for insertion of a hollow square pillarobtained from squarely assembling a pair of L-shaped plates 45projecting from the ring 49 of the secondary rotors, 5A and 5A.

FIGS. 14 through 16 show a main rotor assembly and a secondary rotorassembly both of which are accommodated within the housing 1A. Thehousing 1A is provided with a plurality of dovetail grooves 59 insuitable positions on the inner side surface thereof and a plurality ofseal members 48 being pressed outwardly by the force of springs.

So far as this preferred embodiment concerns, the elucidation will beomitted in respect to the operating status in connection with the intakestroke, the compression stroke, the expansion stroke and the exhaustionstroke, because they are the same as those of the first preferredembodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the followingelucidation will cover only different points from the first one.

In this preferred embodiment, all the portions of the main rotor, 4A and4A, as well as the secondary rotor are not constructed integrally, likein the first preferred embodiment. That is, the rotors are constructedwith the sleeves 33 and 51 as separate portions.

Once the gas mixture is burst in a gas-working chamber on the side ofmain chamber 2A for generation of gas pressure, a very large torque isgiven the rotating shaft 8A of the main rotor 4A and 4A, whereby alarger structural strength is required by the portion to which the mainrotor is connected. On the other hand, the rotating shaft of thesecondary rotor is given a torque resulting only from compression of thedrawn in gas mixture, so that it does not require so large a strength.

Therefore, to satisfy such a requirement as abovementioned, the mainrotor, 4A and 4A, is separated from the sleeve 33 and is fixedly securedto the rotating shaft 8A and both main rotors are disposed in symmetryon the opposing sides of a pair of end plates 26 and 27.

As the result, the main rotor, 4A and 4A, the end plates, 26 and 27, thegear 21A, and the rotating shaft 8A can rotate en bloc to provide therequired strength for the above-mentioned requirement.

As to the secondary rotor, A and 5A, the rotating shaft 9A is providedwith only a gear 22A which is incorporated with a pair of opposedL-shaped plates combined together.

In the first preferred embodiment, there is some difficulty in alwaysproviding a perfect seal around the boundary of the gas-working chamber.Further fluctuations arise owing to the difference between the masses ofthe main and the secondary rotors. Accordingly, in this preferredembodiment, a particular effort is made to prevent gas leakage as wellas occurence of fluctuation. Moreover, this preferred embodiment isintended to establish an output as large as could be established by twosets of a rotary engine designed as the first preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

With respect to means for preventing gas leakage, it is deemed that theforegoing description could make it clear to some extent forunderstanding. However, as the foregoing description still has someobscurity, further elucidation will be made as below.

The main rotor, 4A and 4A, rotates on the rotating shaft 8A within themain chamber 2A and 2A of the housing 1A, meanwhile the end plate, 26and 27, rotates simultaneously along with the main rotor. Thus, therotation of said end plate, 26 and 27, is performed within the mainchamber and also within the space caused by a portion of the other endplate, 42 and 43, where a sectorial portion thereof is removed. Said endplate, 42 and 43 is positioned non-rotatably within the secondarychamber of the housing and is slidably sustained by the journal 44 ofthe secondary rotor, 5A and 5A, disposed adjacent thereto.

As the result, the seal member 35 disposed on the periphery of the endplate, 26 and 27, is hindered in its rotation along with the end plateby the projection 62 provided in the cut-away sector ofthe end plate, 42and 43, and thereby it slides along the depressed groove so as to stayand adhere closely to the inner wall of the main chamber 2A for sealingthereof. Meanwhile, the seal member 56 disposed on the periphery of theend plate, 42 and 43, stays thereon and adheres closely to the innerside wall of the secondary chamber 3A for sealing thereof.

1 claim:

1. A rotary engine, comprising:

first and second rotor means respectively mounted for rotation aboutfirst and second parallel axes, each of said rotor means comprising anarcuate sector of selected angular extent so that the sectors of saidfirst and second rotor means complement one another and totalapproximately 360;

said first rotor means having the sector thereof defined by a firstcylindrical surface which extends through a first arcuate extent, saidfirst cylindrical surface being generated by a first radius definedabout said first axis, said sector also being defined by a first curvedsurface which connects to one end of said first cylindrical surface andextends radially inwardly toward said first axis, said sector beingstill further defined by a second curved surface which is connected tothe other end of said first cy lindrical surface and extends radiallyinwardly toward said first axis and is interconnected to said firstcurved surface;

said second rotor means having the sector thereof defined by a secondcylindrical surface which extends through a second arcuate extent, saidsecond cylindrical surface being generated by a second radius definedabout said second axis, said second radius.

being equal to said first radius, said sector also being defined by athird curved surface which connects to one end of said secondcylindrical surface and extends radially inwardly toward said secondaxis, said sector being still further defined by a fourth curved surfacewhich is connected to the other end of said second cylindrical surfaceand extends radially inwardly toward said second axis and isinterconnected to said third curved surface;

housing means defining therein a substantially c0 coon-shaped chamber,said cocoon-shaped cham' her being defined by first and secondsubstantially cylindrical bores which extend parallel to one another,said first and second bores each being defined by a third radius whichis substantially equal to said first radius, and the longitudinallyextending axes of said bores being spaced apart by a distance less thanthe diameter of each bore so that the two bores overlap so as to be inopen communication with one another;

said housing means including sidewall means surrounding saidcocoon-shaped chamber and a pair of end wall means fixed to saidsidewall means and closing the opposite ends of said cocoon-shapedchamber;

means rotatably supporting said first and second rotor means in saidfirst and second bores, respectively, whereby the axis of rotation ofthe respective rotor means is aligned with the longitudinally extendingaxis of the respective bore;

said first curved surface being generated by providing a disk defined bya radius equal to said first radius, positioning a curve generating lineadjacent said disk so that it overlies a reference line on said diskwhich extends radially outwardly from the center of said disk, saidcurve generating line having a length equal to said first radius andbeing positioned to overlie said reference line so that a first pointdefining the inner end of said generating line is disposed more closelyadjacent the center of said disk and a second point defining the outerend of said generating line is disposed more closely adjacent theperiphery of said disk, rotating the curve generating line about saidsecond point in a rotational direction which is substantially parallelwith said disk and simultaneously therewith rotating the disk about itscenter in the reverse rotational direction at the same angular velocityas said curve generating line, whereby the first point defines on saiddisk a curve which extends from said reference line to the periphery ofsaid disk, said curve being the configuration of said first curvedsurface;

said second curved surface as formed on said first rotor means being amirror image of said first curved surface;

said third curved surface as formed on said second rotor means beinggenerated in the same manner as said first curved surface, and saidfourth curved surface being the mirror image of said third curvedsurface; one of said end wall means having an annular ringshaped channelformed therein in concentric relationship to said second axis, saidring-shaped channel projecting inwardly from the inner surface of saidone end wall means whereby said ring-shaped channel communicates withsaid cocoon-shaped chamber, said one end wall means having a diskshapedportion surrounded by said ring-shaped channel and having an end facethereon disposed directly adjacent and opposite to an end face on saidsecond rotor means; ring-shaped flow control element fixed to andprojecting from one end of said second rotor means and slidably disposedwithin said ring-shaped channel, said ring-shaped element having anoutwardly opening groove formed on the outer periphery thereof andextending angularly along half of said outer periphery, said ring-shapedelement further having a flow opening providing communication betweensaid groove and the inner periphery of said element; said disk-shapedportion having a recess formed in the end face thereof and openingtoward said second bore, said disk-shaped portion also having acommunication hole formed therein and extending between said recess andthe outer periphery of said disk-shaped portion, whereby said openingand said hole intermittently communicate with one another duringrotation of said second rotor means;

means defining exhaust and intake opening respectively communicatingwith said first and second bores'for permitting discharge of gases fromsaid first bore and supply of gases to said second bore;

ignition means associated with said chamber for igniting a combustiblegas located therein, said ignition means including an ignition chambercommunicating with said first bore and also communicating with saidring-shaped channel, whereby said ignition chamber intermittentlycommunicates with said groove during rotation of said second rotormeans; and

means drivingly interconnecting said first and second rotor means forsynchronous rotation in opposite directions.

2. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein the curve generatingline is initially positioned to overlie said reference line so that saidfirst point is spaced a selected distance from the center of said disk,said selected distance defining a small radius which is used to generatea small circle about said center, whereby generation of said curve bysaid first point results in said curve being tangent to said smallcircle.

3. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said curve generatingline comprises one side of an equilateral triangle so that said firstand second points respectively define first and second vertexes of saidtriangle, said equilateral triangle having a third vertex which isinitially positioned adjacent the periphery of said disk in spacedrelationship to said reference line, and wherein said equilateraltriangle is rotated about said second vertex as the center in adirection such that said first vertex is moved radially outwardly awayfrom the center of the disk simultaneous with the movement of said thirdvertex radially inwardly toward the center of said disk, whereby saidfirst and third vertexes simultaneously generate identical curves whichdefine said first and second curved surfaces, respectively.

4. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said housing meansincludes first and second sleeves respectively mounted on said first andsecond axes and stationarily positioned with respect to said housingmeans, and said first and second rotor means being respectivelyrotatably supported on said first and second sleeves, each of said rotormeans having an inwardly facing cylindrical surface of limited arcuateextent extending between the radially inner ends of said curved surfacesand disposed in sliding and sealing engagement with the outer peripheralsurface ofthe respective sleeve, the inner cylindrical surface of therotor means and the outer surface of the sleeve being provided with sealmeans thereon for slidable sealing contact with the respectivecooperating surface.

5. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said first rotor meansincludes a pair of identical rotor sectors and means fixedlyinterconnecting same for rotation about said first axis, said pair ofsectors being axially spaced from one another and disposed ondiametrically opposite sides of said first axis;

said second rotor means including a pair of identical sectors and meansfixedly interconnecting same for rotation about said second axis, saidpair of rotor sectors being axially spaced from one another and disposedon diammetrically opposite sides of said second axis;

each of the rotor sectors of said first rotor means being positioneddirectly adjacent and rotatably coacting with one of the rotor sectorsof said second rotor means.

6. A rotary engine according to claim 5, wherein said means drivinglyinterconnecting said first and second rotor means for synchronousrotation in opposite directions includes gear means positioned axiallybetween the pair of sectors associated with each rotor means.

7. A rotary engine according to claim 5, wherein said housing meansincludes stationary sleeve means coaxially aligned with each of saidfirst and second axes and positioned so as to be slidably and sealinglyengaged by each of said sectors, each of said sectors having an inwardlydirected partial cylindrical surface extending between the inner ends ofthe respective curved surfaces, said inwardly directed cylindricalsurface being disposed in sliding engagement with the outer surface ofsaid sleeve means.

8. An engine according to claim 7, wherein said sleeve means has anarcuate recess formed in the outer periphery thereof adapted to slidablyreceive therein the outer cylindrical periphery of a respective sectorduring rotation thereof.

9. A rotary engine according to claim 6, wherein said gear meansincludes first and second gears disposed in meshing engagement with oneanother, said first gear being positioned axially between the pair ofsectors associated with said first rotor means, and said second gearbeing axially positioned between the pair of sectors associated withsaid second rotor means;

said first rotor means including a first pair of circular disklikesupport plates positioned between said pair of rotor sectors anddisposed on opposite sides of said first gear for confining sametherebetween, said support plates being fixedly connected to said firstgear and to said rotor sectors, said support plates having a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of said first bore and having sealmeans on the outer periphery thereof whereby said first pair of supportplates are disposed in rotatable sealing engagement with the surroundingwall which defines said first bore; and

second pair of support plates stationarily disposed within said secondbore and sealingly engaging the housing wall defining said second bore,said second pair of plates being disposed axially between the rotorsectors of said second rotor means and being disposed on opposite sidesof said second gear to confine same therebetween, said second pair ofplates being positioned directly adjacent first pair tends through anangle of approximately 240.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 3,863,609Dated February 4, 1975 Inventor(s) Yoshlo hl Page 1 of 5 It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Cover sheet should be canceled and substituted to read per attachment.Figs. 6, 10, l3, l4, l5 and 16 should be canceled to read as perattachments.

Signed and Scaled this A ttes t:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner oj'Parentsand Trademarks Patent No. 3,863,609

United States Patent 1191 lkarashi i 1 ROTARY ENGINE [76] Inventor:Yosliio lkarashi, No. 3-15,

Otemachi l-chome, Shibata, Japan [22] Filed: Sept. 19, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 290,343

[52] US. Cl l23/8.07, 123/825, 123/843 [51] 1111. c1. F02b 53/08 [58]Field of Search 123/843, 8.25, 8.07

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 593,514 11/1897 Chaudun .L123/825 1,850,904 3/1932 Woodward 123/825 3,060,911 10/1962 Milton123/825 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 512,389 4/1955 Canada 123/825Primary Examiner-.Clarence R. Gordon Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodhams,Blanchard & Flynn [57] ABSTRACT A rotary engine comprising both a mainand secon- Page 2 of 5 1451 Feb. 4, 1975 dary rotor provided with arotating shaft defined along the central axis thereof and disposed insuch a fashion that either of the semi-cylindrically curved outersurfaces of said two rotors is always kept in contact with the outersurface of the central axis portion of the other rotor; a housingincluding therein two cylindrical hollow portions with a radiusequivalent to that of both rotors so as to accommodate therein said tworotors and thereby having a cross-section of cocoonshape; a gearingmechanism interconnecting both of the rotating shafts projecting outfrom the cover plates of the housing; a fuel feeding hole positioned ina portion of the housing where the secondary rotor is ac commodated; andan ignition plug as well as a exhaust hole positioned in another portionof the housing where the main rotor is accommodated, said two roon theboth sides of the central axes of said two members lengthwisely along aspecific curve.

10 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures Page 3 of 5 PatentNo. 3,863,609

FIG- 6 Page 4 of 5 Patent No.

Page 5 of 5 Patent No.

FIG. l5

FIG. I6

1. A rotary engine, comprising: first and second rotor meansrespectively mounted for rotation about first and second parallel axes,each of said rotor means comprising an arcuate sector of selectedangular extent so that the sectors of said first and second rotor meanscomplement one another and total approximately 360* ; said first rotormeaNs having the sector thereof defined by a first cylindrical surfacewhich extends through a first arcuate extent, said first cylindricalsurface being generated by a first radius defined about said first axis,said sector also being defined by a first curved surface which connectsto one end of said first cylindrical surface and extends radiallyinwardly toward said first axis, said sector being still further definedby a second curved surface which is connected to the other end of saidfirst cylindrical surface and extends radially inwardly toward saidfirst axis and is interconnected to said first curved surface; saidsecond rotor means having the sector thereof defined by a secondcylindrical surface which extends through a second arcuate extent, saidsecond cylindrical surface being generated by a second radius definedabout said second axis, said second radius being equal to said firstradius, said sector also being defined by a third curved surface whichconnects to one end of said second cylindrical surface and extendsradially inwardly toward said second axis, said sector being stillfurther defined by a fourth curved surface which is connected to theother end of said second cylindrical surface and extends radiallyinwardly toward said second axis and is interconnected to said thirdcurved surface; housing means defining therein a substantiallycocoon-shaped chamber, said cocoon-shaped chamber being defined by firstand second substantially cylindrical bores which extend parallel to oneanother, said first and second bores each being defined by a thirdradius which is substantially equal to said first radius, and thelongitudinally extending axes of said bores being spaced apart by adistance less than the diameter of each bore so that the two boresoverlap so as to be in open communication with one another; said housingmeans including sidewall means surrounding said cocoon-shaped chamberand a pair of end wall means fixed to said sidewall means and closingthe opposite ends of said cocoon-shaped chamber; means rotatablysupporting said first and second rotor means in said first and secondbores, respectively, whereby the axis of rotation of the respectiverotor means is aligned with the longitudinally extending axis of therespective bore; said first curved surface being generated by providinga disk defined by a radius equal to said first radius, positioning acurve generating line adjacent said disk so that it overlies a referenceline on said disk which extends radially outwardly from the center ofsaid disk, said curve generating line having a length equal to saidfirst radius and being positioned to overlie said reference line so thata first point defining the inner end of said generating line is disposedmore closely adjacent the center of said disk and a second pointdefining the outer end of said generating line is disposed more closelyadjacent the periphery of said disk, rotating the curve generating lineabout said second point in a rotational direction which is substantiallyparallel with said disk and simultaneously therewith rotating the diskabout its center in the reverse rotational direction at the same angularvelocity as said curve generating line, whereby the first point defineson said disk a curve which extends from said reference line to theperiphery of said disk, said curve being the configuration of said firstcurved surface; said second curved surface as formed on said first rotormeans being a mirror image of said first curved surface; said thirdcurved surface as formed on said second rotor means being generated inthe same manner as said first curved surface, and said fourth curvedsurface being the mirror image of said third curved surface; one of saidend wall means having an annular ring-shaped channel formed therein inconcentric relationship to said second axis, said ring-shaped channelprojecting inwardly from the inner surface of said one end wall meanswhereby said ring-shaped channel communicAtes with said cocoon-shapedchamber, said one end wall means having a disk-shaped portion surroundedby said ring-shaped channel and having an end face thereon disposeddirectly adjacent and opposite to an end face on said second rotormeans; a ring-shaped flow control element fixed to and projecting fromone end of said second rotor means and slidably disposed within saidring-shaped channel, said ring-shaped element having an outwardlyopening groove formed on the outer periphery thereof and extendingangularly along half of said outer periphery, said ring-shaped elementfurther having a flow opening providing communication between saidgroove and the inner periphery of said element; said disk-shaped portionhaving a recess formed in the end face thereof and opening toward saidsecond bore, said disk-shaped portion also having a communication holeformed therein and extending between said recess and the outer peripheryof said disk-shaped portion, whereby said opening and said holeintermittently communicate with one another during rotation of saidsecond rotor means; means defining exhaust and intake openingrespectively communicating with said first and second bores forpermitting discharge of gases from said first bore and supply of gasesto said second bore; ignition means associated with said chamber forigniting a combustible gas located therein, said ignition meansincluding an ignition chamber communicating with said first bore andalso communicating with said ring-shaped channel, whereby said ignitionchamber intermittently communicates with said groove during rotation ofsaid second rotor means; and means drivingly interconnecting said firstand second rotor means for synchronous rotation in opposite directions.2. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein the curve generatingline is initially positioned to overlie said reference line so that saidfirst point is spaced a selected distance from the center of said disk,said selected distance defining a small radius which is used to generatea small circle about said center, whereby generation of said curve bysaid first point results in said curve being tangent to said smallcircle.
 3. A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said curvegenerating line comprises one side of an equilateral triangle so thatsaid first and second points respectively define first and secondvertexes of said triangle, said equilateral triangle having a thirdvertex which is initially positioned adjacent the periphery of said diskin spaced relationship to said reference line, and wherein saidequilateral triangle is rotated about said second vertex as the centerin a direction such that said first vertex is moved radially outwardlyaway from the center of the disk simultaneous with the movement of saidthird vertex radially inwardly toward the center of said disk, wherebysaid first and third vertexes simultaneously generate identical curveswhich define said first and second curved surfaces, respectively.
 4. Arotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said housing means includesfirst and second sleeves respectively mounted on said first and secondaxes and stationarily positioned with respect to said housing means, andsaid first and second rotor means being respectively rotatably supportedon said first and second sleeves, each of said rotor means having aninwardly facing cylindrical surface of limited arcuate extent extendingbetween the radially inner ends of said curved surfaces and disposed insliding and sealing engagement with the outer peripheral surface of therespective sleeve, the inner cylindrical surface of the rotor means andthe outer surface of the sleeve being provided with seal means thereonfor slidable sealing contact with the respective cooperating surface. 5.A rotary engine according to claim 1, wherein said first rotor meansincludes a pair of identical rotor sectors and means fixedlyinterconnecting same for rotation about said first axis, said pair ofsectorS being axially spaced from one another and disposed ondiametrically opposite sides of said first axis; said second rotor meansincluding a pair of identical sectors and means fixedly interconnectingsame for rotation about said second axis, said pair of rotor sectorsbeing axially spaced from one another and disposed on diammetricallyopposite sides of said second axis; each of the rotor sectors of saidfirst rotor means being positioned directly adjacent and rotatablycoacting with one of the rotor sectors of said second rotor means.
 6. Arotary engine according to claim 5, wherein said means drivinglyinterconnecting said first and second rotor means for synchronousrotation in opposite directions includes gear means positioned axiallybetween the pair of sectors associated with each rotor means.
 7. Arotary engine according to claim 5, wherein said housing means includesstationary sleeve means coaxially aligned with each of said first andsecond axes and positioned so as to be slidably and sealingly engaged byeach of said sectors, each of said sectors having an inwardly directedpartial cylindrical surface extending between the inner ends of therespective curved surfaces, said inwardly directed cylindrical surfacebeing disposed in sliding engagement with the outer surface of saidsleeve means.
 8. An engine according to claim 7, wherein said sleevemeans has an arcuate recess formed in the outer periphery thereofadapted to slidably receive therein the outer cylindrical periphery of arespective sector during rotation thereof.
 9. A rotary engine accordingto claim 6, wherein said gear means includes first and second gearsdisposed in meshing engagement with one another, said first gear beingpositioned axially between the pair of sectors associated with saidfirst rotor means, and said second gear being axially positioned betweenthe pair of sectors associated with said second rotor means; said firstrotor means including a first pair of circular disklike support platespositioned between said pair of rotor sectors and disposed on oppositesides of said first gear for confining same therebetween, said supportplates being fixedly connected to said first gear and to said rotorsectors, said support plates having a diameter substantially equal tothe diameter of said first bore and having seal means on the outerperiphery thereof whereby said first pair of support plates are disposedin rotatable sealing engagement with the surrounding wall which definessaid first bore; and a second pair of support plates stationarilydisposed within said second bore and sealingly engaging the housing walldefining said second bore, said second pair of plates being disposedaxially between the rotor sectors of said second rotor means and beingdisposed on opposite sides of said second gear to confine sametherebetween, said second pair of plates being positioned directlyadjacent first pair of plates so that each said first plate has aportion of the periphery thereof disposed in rotatable sealingengagement with one of said second plates, and the rotor sectors of saidsecond rotor means having end faces thereon disposed in rotatablesealing engagement with the side faces of said second pair of plates.10. A rotary engine according to claim 9, wherein the sector associatedwith said first rotor means extends through an angle of approximately120*, and wherein the sector associated with said second rotor meansextends through an angle of approximately 240*.